Do indoor Chihuahuas need collars if they try to remove them?

I would not leave your puppy in a harness when you are not with him. I always advise removing collars, harnesses and leashes when your dog is home. This is both more comfortable for your dog and a safer way to leave them unattended. There is a chance they could caught in something while running around or jumping at home.

Dogs should not be left in a crate with a collar on, or left unsupervised anywhere where there is something that could get hooked on the collar, as this poses a potential strangulation risk. They should also not be left unsupervised while playing with other dogs with a collar on, as this could lead to strangulation if the other dog grabs the collar. You can remove the collar at night if your dog is in a secure area where he cannot accidentally get loose or escape, as you can't monitor Oscar at night while sleeping.

Zoey is a very pretty girl! :) No, it shouldn't be necessary to use a shock collar to teach her this. If she has a habit of bolting out the door, you can teach her to wait nicely when the door is opened for permission to go out. Practice first asking her to sit just inside the door. Then say "wait!", and immediately reward her. Once she is happily sitting and waiting for her treat, try saying "wait!", touching the door knob, and rewarding her. Work you way up to turning the knob, opening the door just a crack at first, then wider and wider - make sure to reward her at each tiny step so that she understands what you want. With a few days of practice, you should be able to say "wait!" and open the door all the way without her running out. Make sure to keep her on a leash for this exercise, just in case she makes a mistake and tries to run out the door while she is learning! It would also be a good idea to teach her to come when you call her, so that if she does happen to slip out the door at some point, you can easily call her back. To teach this skill, start in the house with a handful of extremely tasty treats - small bites of chicken or roast beef work very well for many dogs. Say "Zoey, come!" in a happy voice - as soon as she comes over to investigate, praise her and feed her your handful of treats. Do this 2-3 times a day, every day, until she happily comes running as soon as you call. At that point, you can start to practice outside in more distracting environments - I recommend using a long line (a very long, light-weight leash) for safety while you are teaching this. With practice, she should come to you right away whenever you call her - just make sure to reward her every time, since this is a very important life skill. :)

I generally recommend using harnesses rather than collars for walking. If a dog pulls excessively on a collar, they can cause irritation to the trachea (windpipe) or develop neck pain or injury. Some harnesses, such as an EasyWalk harness or Gentle Leader, are designed to minimize pulling and can be quite helpful for training. Teaching Jasper a "look" command where he learns to watch you closely while on a leash is quite helpful. All of that said, I still like dogs to wear collars so that their identification tags are readily accessible in the off chance that they would run off. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

I would not leave it on her all the time, especially if Mila gets annoyed with it. That's because it is more restrictive than a collar, and it can chafe in sensitive areas, such as under her arms. I would make sure she does have a collar on at all times with an ID tag.

I would get them doggie sweaters! This will help keep them warm both inside and outside the house. They can wear the sweaters indoors, and you can also get thick doggie coats for them to wear outside. Pet stores will carry these, and some of the stuff they have is really cute. I'd buy those for your dogs. I hope this helps!

Your town may require that dogs wear license tags at all times, so whenever Snowball is outdoors she should have a collar with the tag on it . . . I would also recommend an ID tag in case she gets lost. However, you can attach the tags to the vest or leash as well. The only problem with that solution is if she gets out by mistake and has neither vest nor leash on. If it is the type of collar that you can manipulate with one hand, you can try holding a treat in the other hand while you get it off. But I am concerned that, at nine months old, she is aggressive with you. I would suggest that she attend a dog obedience class so you can learn to balance your relationship with her. She should allow you to remove her collar without any adverse reaction. If you have questions or need more information, you can click on the prompt to initiate a consult. Good luck with this!